TAX ON BACHELORS

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2125, 17 April 1914, Page 9

TAX ON BACHELORS

ADVOCATED BY LIBERAL CANDIDATE. ~A political address was delivered in the lown Hall, Island Bay, last night by ilr, A. Aislabie, a Liberal candidate lor the Suburbs scat.- A chairman was dispensed with, and there was an attendance of about forty poisons. Mr. Aislabie said that ho was satisfied the country, ' being a.democratic country, was not going to submit to be governed by. a Tory party. Tho speaker proceeded to deal with tho land laws existmg.in England, which caused untold poverty amongst the working classes. It was an example of Conservative GovernmenT, and he was satisfied that Now Zealand would no longer submit to government by a party tied down to the interests of the land monopolists. Ho advocated.a graduated landtex to place settlers on the land. The-land question most important for the people m New Zealand, and it.was on that question that;-iliojo uo'd f >fo«le(siflp,Sy«mh' .party was .to-'remaiii iU:po\ver". -Tho Lib- 1 eral Government had- spent £6,000,000 in purchase of. land for •settlement, and had settled-some 30,000 people on tho land. This had increased the value of the land, and they had now to find somo •other means, apart from tho Land tor ■ Settlement Act, to cut up the land for small holders.

Dealing with tho defence question, the speaker supported the Territorial system,' wnicn, lie uiougnt, would prove oi inestimable value to New Zealand. With regard to naval defence, he advocated maintaining connection with tho Imperial' Navy. Social legislation for tho benefit of the .whole of the people was referred to by Mr. Aislabie, who also advocated reform in- the prison system. Wellington m particular presented a sorry spectaclo in this respect, he said, for the unfortunate prisoners had to be paraded before the publio oyo, when taken from tho Terrace Prison, to work at Mount Cook, drafting of prisoners to the State farms, he thought, would prove a remedy. The labour could then bo utilised to some advantage, and country work would have: an uplifting effect upon the men.

I Mr. Aislabio thought that a great deal of good could bo done by educating the people to guard against diseases with which a large number of tho people were suffering. He would like, he said, to seo the appointment of ono or two medical officers to go through the country, lecturing and instructing the people how to maintain health. This would have the "effect, in time, of lessening the amount of expenditure for hospitals. It would also tend to a higher standard of human beings in the country. The speaker announced himself in favour of deciding the liquor question on a, do-per cent, majority. Ho advocated a tax on bachelors, who were not contributing their proper share towards the taxation of tho country. The proceeds of the tax, he thought, should go to the old age pensions fund. A vote of thanks was passed to the candidate for his address.'